Posted
by
Soulskill
on Wednesday August 28, 2013 @12:03AM
from the oh-no-not-the-twit-o-sphere dept.

cold fjord writes with news that the NY Times website was disrupted by hackers Tuesday afternoon. "In an interview, Mr. Frons said the attack was carried out by a group known as 'the Syrian Electronic Army, or someone trying very hard to be them.' The group attacked the company’s domain name registrar, Melbourne IT. The Web site first went down after 3 p.m.; once service was restored, the hackers quickly disrupted the site again." The Times wasn't the only site to be attacked: "Earlier today, a Twitter account allegedly belonging to the Syrian Electronic Army, a pro-Syrian-regime hacker collective, claimed to have taken over The New York Times website, Huffington Post UK's website and Twitter.com, by hacking into each of the site's registry accounts." The group was definitely able to change contact info for Twitter's domain. The Wall Street Journal notes that this is the same group that targeted media organizations a few months back. "When the SEA hacked the Twitter account of the Associated Press earlier this year, it posted a false headline to the account that said the White House had been attacked. The hoax caused U.S. stock markets to briefly lose $200 billion in value."

Then this attack had exactly the wrong effect. Shutting off Twitter and the New York Times is going to put me in a better mood, and make me want the conflict to escalate into them attacking Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit.

Have yourself a good time, Syrian Electronic Army! Take out the Internet's trash and do the rest of us a big favor.

You missed the part about making stock markets drop. Frankly, I think they most likely did it for the LULZ; but if you recall, there was an investigation into short-selling of reinsurance companies before 9/11. I don't know what actually came of that investigation. The Bin Laden family is probably more sophisticated than these SEA guys, but we shouldn't underestimate them. Once you figure out how to move markets with disinformation, you can plow more R&D back into moving markets, as well as funding actual acts of terror which also move markets... and... well, it's exponential until it hits some kind of natural hard limit. They can't drive the S&P to zero, but they don't have to in order to make a *lot* of money.

We're being played by somebody, somewhere. Our fucking brilliant leaders won't figure it out until they've lost lives as well as $billions.

This is just speculation, but I think the boston bombers did it because they wanted to be famous. That and some religious bullshit.

An actual country who has hired cyber-mercenaries on the other hand, it makes no sense. Unless you're suggesting Syria is doing this for attention?

Now, if the "syrian electronic army" actually has nothing to do with Syria, then that's a reasonable explanation, but without something suggesting it's just a bunch of domestic suburban juveniles, I'm not sure it holds much

That hacked twitter post cause a $200 billion temporary loss in the stock market. You could make some serious cash if you knew it was fake and bought low, or knew the hack was coming and shorted stock beforehand.

No, I'm in my mid-twenties; just of an historical bent. I was diagnosed with hipsterism as a child, but a shallow appreciation for the obscure and bygone was too mainstream. It's very satisfying to criticize other young people for getting their history wrong.

...that being said, it's a great way to burn bridges, so I don't actually recommend it.

Great. Now I've got this mental image of Bashar al-Assad [wikipedia.org] with a bunch of kids with late 70s haircuts in a Damascus bunker rocking out to Don't Bring Me Down [wikipedia.org] while they take down U.S. media sites.

My site is running, serving The New York Times...
You've got me thinking SEA's a waste of my time...
Don't bring me down... no no no no no
I'll tell you once more before I email Melbourne
Don't bring me down...

Agreed. They all seem to want you to put in information that anyone could find by browsing your Facebook profile (assuming you have one, natch). It's better to answer them with random words (in case you have to answer them to a live rep) and use a password manager to keep track of them.

Another option is to perform a simple substitution. Instead of answering "What was the name of your first pet?" correctly, put down your mother's maiden name. Your pet's real name will go under, say, a question asking where y

Sounds like an occasion for a good Iron Man vs. Batman religious debate: Two billionerd techno-vigilantes, one with the cocky attitude of a cat that just got a jar of cream, the other with the surly attitude of a cat that just got a jar of cream stuffed up its ass.

So, first a story about the army being ready to raid the country, and just now a cyber-attack originating from syria happens... How do we know it's not US electronic warfare machine fabricating a bening attack to foster popular support for the coming war? After all, false flags before wars are the norm and not the exception.

Ok then, can you explain to me why would Syria would redirect nytimes domain to its own address? If I was to attack someone online, the last thing I would do is point my attacker back to me. This makes no sense at all. Have fun drinking your cool-aid.

I don't have to. This is totally unnecessary. Your premise is that the US Govt hacked the NYT as an excuse to invade Syria. My point is: it doesn't matter who hacked the NYT, we're going to invade Syria anyway. So who cares?

Who stands to benefit from such a physical war exactly? Another war with no exit strategy and no real allies. I don't think it's been long enough to where enough people have forgotten how bad that worked the previous two times.

Now the cyber security industry wanting more money to be thrown their way, that sounds a lot more likely.

Geopolitics. Russia is an ally if Syria, to the point they have a naval base there. Controlling the region would be good enough reason to fabricate a (pr) reason to go there. Rule #1 when you are about to enter a war is to demonixe your opponent. Here we are now...

Because it is harmless, but can be pushed as a threat in the medias? I just dont see what strategic interest Syria would try to bring the US army to its civil war. Or maybe it is the russians looking for a good old proxy war with the US...

The NYT also published an Op-Ed today entitled Bomb Syria, Even if It Is Illegal [nytimes.com]. I think it's quite easy to imagine some nationalist Syrian hackers targeting the site. That seems far more likely than some dark government conspiracy. Many major international players are already signalling support for the US bombing Syria. Why would Obama fake a minor hack against some newspaper? What would he have to gain? The downside if caught seems much, much greater than the tiny potential upside.

What you talking about AC? My retirement account lost money because of their actions, and it's been made clear on here that it will be made certain that none of us older age types can feel depend on social securityc! I say bomb them back to the stoneage!!

the goal is iran.. it always has been... the syrian thing has been ongoing for a few years.. it takes a lot of money for food, logistics etc, and weapons to humans fighting a provisioned government.. saudi/us supported insurgency in the first place..

since its hard to get world support for an iranian attack, it might be easier to do it using syria, iran's major ally in the region.. if they somehow lure iran in on it.

The whole thing is fishy - why is it okay that the U.S. is supporting the jihadists in Syria anyways?

I know you've been taught that 'jihadist' means 'anti-American terrorist,' but it's really not true. Give up the conditioning. A jihadist can be good, or bad, or even non-violent.

I'm not saying we should invade Syria, just that a jihadist isn't what you think it is.

I don't think any of the terrorist organizations are jihadist. They appear to be people who are outraged at some real or perceived wrong, and have convinced themselves that killing innocent people is proper redress.

Just like Timothy McVeigh.

AFAICT the only way Islam enters into Middle Eastern sourced terrorism is as part of the definition of "us" vs. "them".

I wouldn't go that far [wikipedia.org]. Think of christians in the middle ages, willing to kill for religion. In a lot of ways the middle east is stuck in the middle ages. So you'll have guys who think it's ok to kill people just because they are Sufis or 'wrong sect.' You'll find people believing this even when they are relatively well off.

An article on 29 January reported allegations on the internet that the US Government had backed a plot to launch a chemicals weapons attack in Syria and blame it on the Assad regime.... We now accept that email was fabricated and acknowledge there is no truth in any suggestion that Britam or its directors were willing to consider taking part in such a plot, which may have led to an atrocity.We apologise to each of them and have agreed to pay substantial damages.

So your thinking is that it won't be the use of chemical weapons on a civilian population killing over a thousand people in violation of international treaties, and in the face of repeated warnings from the international community that have been openly stated that will rile people up?

Yeah... you got any proof that the rebels or even a covert op didn't launch the alleged chemical weapons? Because Syria launching chemical weapons makes about as much sense as Obama nuking Texas.

I know, I know, you were damn sure Iraq had chemical weapons too, right? And they were throwing babies around, right? And Iran will have a nuke... what... 3 years ago now?

You're a fucking brain-dead fool who is the very target of the absurd propaganda the rest of us shake our head at. You're at the bottom of the int

So when its the good 'freedom fighters' they are just volunteers? Same flags, same funding, same tactics, same world views but in Syria they are just volunteers vs their actions in Iraq, Afghanistan, spreading into Africa and other regions?

So the CIA can magically pick the good volunteering freedom fighters from the random evil doers who are also volunteering? That worked so well in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Iraq....and a US photo op in the region.
All that cash and small arms just for the nice, US friendly freedom fighters... so when the US backed volunteers win and Syria is free of minority groups all say Mission Accomplished again?

Real Syrians want the US gone. Now personally, I'm okay with Syrians just as long as they are willing to listen to non-Syrian views. I'm willing to listen to their viewpoints, why aren't they as open to mine? I'll even give a preview....free drugs, free sex, and free religion. I'm willing to listen to their views of freedom as well.

Now personally, I'm okay with Syrians just as long as they are willing to listen to non-Syrian views

word me too...this whole mess started as an outgrowth of the Arab Spring.

Egypt and Syria are getting the 'divide and conquer' treatment from the global Oil Oligarchs. It's just like Iran in '79.

Here's what they do: Take the (IMHO inevitable) progressive democratic revolution in a country ruled by an aristocrat installed by foreign oligarchs...

Now, find an extremist group that is local and non-progressive...

Then, turn them against the progressive rebels, enflame, maybe hire some hacker/thugs to make up some 'internet army' to cause trouble and confusion...

Bam...

There's how the Iranian Revolution, the Arab Spring in Egypt and Syria now got turned into a conflict between "conservatives" and "liberals"...

Status quo is maintained...which is all the Oil Oligarchs ever wanted in the first place...

Syrians are our friends. They want to be humans and exist just like us. They want the freedom of self-determination w/o some asshole dictating shit and controlling society for personal gain. I think we should help them.

Are you saying that Syrians are open to hearing arguments for free sex, drugs, and religion? If such is the case I'll be out protesting in the morning any interention in a country that guarantees such liberties!

I've heard several reports today of people receiving direct messages from apparently compromised accounts. The direct message apparently contains a link to a website asking the potential victim to confirm their password.

Yeah I'm wondering what they call it when they go in with planes, bomb the shit out of every city with white phosphorous, murder civilians by the thousands, deploy killer robots that shoot anything that moves and torture any survivors in secret prisons, where they are kept eternally without trial or even informing them as to why they are arrested. Then put a phony puppet government and use the entire country for a money laundering operations while keeping it in a state of constant civil war so they can just

I won't pretend to know if it is... But folks remember the last time the US presented "conclusive evidence" and it turned out to be fabrication. Why isn't this evidence presented? Why are others, such as SG Moon, reserving judgment for now?

Much of these rebels are affiliated to AQ, why are you so sure supporting them is a good idea?

Again I don't know either. I just think you're jumping to conclusions prematurely.

I just really wish that the US (and mostly the CIA) would learn from the foreign policy mistakes of the last 50 years. Every time we get involved in one of these middle-eastern sectarian wars, it just gets worse for the US.

Iran in the 1950sIsrael / Lebanon / Syria / Egypt in the 1960sIran in the 1970sIraq / Iran, Afghanistan, and Lebanon in the 1980sIraq / Kuwait in the 1990sIraq / Afghanistan in the 2000sAfghanistan in the 2010s...

We should just GTFO and let them kill each other like they obviously want t

Since the domain registrar is what was attacked, the site is still "up," just not reachable at the name nytimes.com. You can still access the site from its IP address: 170.149.168.130 [170.149.168.130]

Note that many links on the site will not work because they point to the nytimes.com domain. To read articles you'll have to copy the link, paste it into the location field and change "www.nytimes.com" to "170.149.168.130"... for example:

The NSA like role will be to help identify the private phones of the military leadership in Syria.
The senior staff will get a few calls about standing down their better performing/more complex Russian weapons. The UK/CIA backed 'freedom' fighters can then advance and there will be a pure flowers and candy victory.
After the US backed freedom fighters/mercs win if the staff did as they where told, clean identity papers/cash will be offered.
If the defence networks light up or any real defensive role is take

Wasn't the NSA surveillance program supposed to put a stop to things like this?

The NSA is hardly going to stop the very thing they are likely doing, i.e. pretending to be some obviously BS "Syrian Electronic Army". It's so fake, it's laughable. But in the Land of the Liar and the Greater Fool, it doesn't matter. Most Americans don't even know what a false flag operation is, they are so fucking stupid.

I would not be surprised at all if this was a local attack, designed as a false provocation to build the case for invasion. It will be interesting to watch and see what other "attacks" happen. Though, if Syria is gassing it's own people, something should be done and the UN is too incompetent to fulfill it's charter. It seems the United States gets to re-evaluate it's position as world police every few years when some wack job government goes berserk on it's people and the UN is too busy being the UN to do a

>The hoax caused U.S. stock markets to briefly lose $200 billion in valueYou know when I found out they could hack the power grid, I thought, wow what damage could that cause!Then I heard they could hack into missal silos and probably decrypt the launch codes given enough time to brute force the sequence, I knew for sure how much damage that could cause....Now i see that they can hack media outlets where people get their information from and post hoax stories on almost any news paper or channel, getting

Obama doesn't want to go to war (it's expensive, financially and politically, Americans will die, and the U.S. will end up having to stick around for 20 years after the end of the war to prop up the country)

OTOH, it may be in the national interest, because it would give the pundicks at FOX news something new to complain about. I'm tired of going into a place of business that has them on, and being treated to incessant Bengazi outrage and "Obamacare is making everyone's insurance rates go up".

Obama doesn't want to go to war (it's expensive, financially and politically, Americans will die, and the U.S. will end up having to stick around for 20 years after the end of the war to prop up the country)

I'm missing which of these things is supposed to dissuade Obama from going to war. He's sanctioned actually killing American citizens without due process, let alone sending them to die. He's already in his second term, so he doesn't need to be politically popular. It's not his money. Meanwhile, his corporate masters profit if we go to war. People buy more shit they don't need, the government buys more war equipment from its carefully selected sole sources...

Hard to believe but the domains were definitely registered at Melbourne IT. So this wasn't a typical hijack and transfer attack. Melbourne IT has always been absolute bottom-rung as far as service goes, why such large orgs use them remains a mystery. Their reputation for security is the only thing they had. Now that's been vaporized.